Marlisa Harding

Eric Reed learned the art of sausage making from his father and is proudly passing down the tradition to his son and friends. “I love to pass it down,” Reed said. 

“My son, my little nephew and even my friends, they want to learn. I’m like, ‘You want to learn to make some sausage? Bring the meat and the seasoning and we’ll make all you want. Hang out all day and cook.’ It’s an event almost because we socialize with it and whatnot.”

Reed began learning to make sausage when he was only eight years old. “My dad made sausage and boudin. He had an outside kitchen and smoke house. So, I’d get up and meet him out there making whatever. I was just always there watching and learning.”

He took a break during high school and his early twenties but eventually found his way back to it. “We always had the equipment, so it made sense to get back into it. I really just like doing it.”

Reed said being able to customize flavors and come up with unique combinations is part of the enjoyment of sausage making. “I like knowing what’s being put in there too and making unique things versus having to find something you like in the store…If I decide I want jalapenos and garlic or green onion, I just do it right there. I can make whatever I want.”

Some of his original creations include a goose breast mixed with pork sausage and duck sausage. “That (duck) was alright. But it was kind of strong,” he said.

While sausage making may seem like a money saver, Reed said it’s actually not. “You really don’t save money because it’s almost an all-day process…So it depends on how valuable your time is…But it’s just convenience really. You know what’s in it. You make it exactly how you want it—salty, a lot of spice, whatever’s more tasteful to you.” 

Because of the lengthy process, Reed says he tends to make a large quantity at a time. “Whether it’s 30 pounds or 150 pounds, it’s still going to take all day because you’ve got to smoke it.”

While professional sausage kitchens make sausage year-round, Reed said he sticks to the winter months. “It’s colder in the winter and you don’t want to get anybody sick…You’re dealing with 100 to 200 pounds of ground meat. If you don’t have a cooler or the right equipment, you can’t just let it sit out on the table. So, you can’t make it in a shop in the summer but you can in the winter when it’s 30 to 40 degrees.”

He added that “the old folks” used to say winter was ideal sausage making weather. “When it’s cold in the morning and the humidity’s real low they’d say, ‘Oh, it’s good smoking weather,’ because you don’t have to cook all moisture out of the smokehouse.”

A true home chef, Reed doesn’t use any specific recipes for his sausage but was able to relay the basics of the craft:

Cut the meat(s) to fit into the grinder.

Grind and combine meats together if creating a mixed sausage.

Add in fresh seasonings of choice: salt, pepper, red pepper, garlic, green onions, jalapenos, minced garlic, high-temperature cubed cheese, etc. 

Stuff the mixture into the casing.

Cut the casings to fit the size of the smoke house.

Hang the sausage in the smoke house for four to eight hours depending on desired flavor.

Sausage making has been a lifelong passion for Eric Reed. It’s a skill he’s passing down to a new generation.

Special to the American Press